Saturday, September 09, 2006

Last May, in the wake of securing legislative approval for the Twins-Hennepin County ballpark bill, we offered well-deserved kudos to Governor Tim Pawlenty, Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, Speaker of the House Steve Sviggum and many others for their efforts to support the plan and resolve this important issue in a bi-partisan manner. There is no question that everyone mentioned above played a HUGE role in getting a ballpark approved and thus ensuring the long-term viability of baseball in this community.

However, the true heroes of the day are Hennepin County commissioners Mike Opat, Randy Johnson, Peter McLaughlin and Mark Stenglein. These are the gentleman who demonstrated the vision to dream about what a 42,000-seat open-air ballpark could do for Minnesota and downtown Minneapolis. These are the officials who filled the “leadership void” on this issue by coming forward with a comprehensive plan and delivering a fair, responsible solution. Most importantly, these are the leaders who showed incredible courage for standing by their convictions in the face of criticism and attack from various sectors of the public.

Yes, Mike Opat, Randy Johnson, Peter McLaughlin and Mark Stenglein deserve the credit for their unwavering leadership and support of the Twins-Hennepin County ballpark plan. They also deserve special THANK YOUs from Twins fans across the region.

In a year when players such as Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan and others have made the Twins one of baseball’s top teams, history will show that commissioners Opat, Johnson, McLaughlin and Stenglein have made the most significant contributions to Upper Midwest baseball in 2006. Well done.